IMPACT OF pH, TEMPERATURE AND GAMMA RADIATION ON G6PD ACTIVITY AND ERYTHROCYTE MORPHOLOGY IN G6PD DEFICIENCY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46754/umtjur.2026.04.001Keywords:
Radiation effect, G6PD, erythrocytes, pH, enzymes.Abstract
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is a genetic condition that primarily affects erythrocytes. G6PD is an enzyme predominantly found in erythrocytes, where it catalyses the oxidation of glucose-6-phosphate in glucose metabolism. Erythrocytes are blood cells produced by stem cells in the bone marrow. Previous research on G6PD deficiency has mainly focused on affected patients. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to optimise the effects of pH and temperature on G6PD enzyme activity, investigate the impact of G6PD deficiency on erythrocytes, and examine the morphology of both normal and G6PD-deficient erythrocytes after exposure to gamma radiation. For the methodology, the dilution method was employed to identify the optimal parameters for G6PD activity. Erythrocytes were obtained from both G6PD-deficient patients and healthy individuals. To study the reactions, substances such as uncoated aspirin and broad bean solutions were added to the erythrocytes. The erythrocytes’ morphology was then examined after exposure to gamma radiation from Cesium-137 for a week. After one week, the samples were observed under a Nikon Eclipse LV/UDM microscope. The results from this irradiation serve as evidence of the effects of G6PD deficiency on erythrocytes and highlight substances that may contribute to the deficiency.
References
Allahverdiyev, A. M., Bagirova, M., Koc, R. C., Ates, S. C., Baydar, S. Y., Yaman, S., Abamor, E. S., & Oztel, O. N. (2012). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and malaria: A method to detect primaquine-induced hemolysis in vitro. https://doi.org/10.5772/48403 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/48403
Beutler, E., & Duparc, S. (2007). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and antimalarial drug development. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 77(4), 779–789. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2007.77.779
Bonilla, J. F., Sanchez, M. C., & Chuaire, L. (2007). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD): Response of the human erythrocyte and another cells to the decrease in their activity. Colombia Médica, 38(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.25100/cm.v38i1.477
Carter, N., Pamba, A., Duparc, S., & Waitumbi, J. N. (2011). Frequency of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in malaria patients from six African countries enrolled in two randomized anti-malarial clinical trials. Malaria Journal, 10, Article 241. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-241 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-241
Felix, K., Rockwood, L. D., Pretsch, W., Nair, J., Bartsch, H., Bornkamm, G. W., & Janz, S. (2002). Moderate G6PD deficiency increases mutation rates in the brain of ice. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 32, 663–673. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(02)00756-6
Fernando, N., Fernando, K., Williams, S., & Premawardhena, A. (2024). A case report of acute oxidative haemolysis following medicinal plant ingestion in a patient with G6PD deficiency. Clinica Chimica Acta, 558, Article 119624. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cca.2024.119624
Filosa, S., Fico, A., Paglialunga, F., Balestrieri, M., Crooke, A., Verde, P., Abrescia, P., Bautista, J. M., & Martini, G. (2003). Failure to increase glucose consumption through the pentose-phosphate pathway results in the death of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase gene-deleted mouse embryonic stem cells subjected to oxidative stress. Biochemical Journal, 370, 935–943. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj20021614
Frank, J. E. (2005). Diagnosis and management of G6PD deficiency. American Family Physician, 72(7), 1277.
Garcia, A. A., Mathews, I. I., Horikoshi, N., Matsui, T., Kaur, M., Wakatsuki, S., & Mochly-Rosen, D. (2022). Stabilization of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase oligomers enhances catalytic activity and stability of clinical variants. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298(3), Article 101610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101610 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101610
Haeussler, K., Berneburg, I., Jortzik, E., Hahn, J., Rahbari, M., Schulz, N., Preuss, J., Zapol’skii, V. A., Bode, L., Pinkerton, A. B., Kaufmann, D. E., Rahlfs, S., & Becker, K. (2019). Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase 6 - p h o s p h o g l u c o n o l a c t o n a s e : Characterization of the Plasmodium vivax enzyme and inhibitor studies. Malaria Journal, 18(1), Article 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2651-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2651-z
Israel, A., Raz, I., Green, I., Golan-Cohen, A., Berkovitch, M., Magen, E., Vinker, S., & Merzon, E. (2025). Health disparities in diabetes treatment: The challenge of G6PD deficiency. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 219, Article 111965. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111965
Karadsheh, N. S., Quttaineh, N. A., Karadsheh, S. N., & El-Khateeb, M. (2021). Effect of combined G6PD deficiency and diabetes on protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation. BMC Endocrine Disorders, 21(1), Article 246. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-021-00911-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-021-00911-6
Koehler, A., & Van Noorden, C. J. (2003). Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and the higher incidence of pollution-induced liver cancer in female flounder. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 22, 2703–2710. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1897/02-364
Kotaka, M., Gover, S., Vandeputte-Rutten, L., Au, S. W. N., Lam, V. M. S., & Adams, M. J. (2005). Structural studies of glucose-6-phosphate and NADP+ binding to human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography, 61, 495–504. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1107/S0907444905002350
Langer, A. L. (2024). Oxidative hemolysis due to phenazopyridine in the absence of G6PD deficiency. Blood, 144(20), 2155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2024026349
Milanowski, P., Carter, T. J., & Weber, G. F. (2013). Enzyme catalysis and the outcome of biochemical reactions. Journal of Proteomics and Bioinformatics, 6, 132–141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/jpb.1000271
Möller, M. N., Orrico, F., Villar, S. F., López, A. C., Silva, N., Donzé, M., Thomson, L., & Denicola, A. (2022). Oxidants and antioxidants in the redox biochemistry of human red blood cells. ACS Omega, 8(1), 147–168. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c06768 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c06768
Nigam, P. S. (2013). Microbial enzymes with special characteristics for biotechnological applications. Biomolecules, 3, 597–611. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biom3030597
Noori-Daloii, M., Najafi, L., Ganji, S. M., Hajebrahimi, Z., & Sanati, M. (2004). Molecular identification of mutations in G6PD gene in patients with favism in Iran. Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry, 60(4), 273–277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03167073
Oka, S., Hsu, C. P., & Sadoshima, J. (2012). Regulation of cell survival and death by pyridine nucleotides. Circulation Research, 111(5), 611–627. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.247932 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.247932
Oliveira, F. A., Silva, D. J. H., Leite, G. L. D., Jham, G. N., & Picanço, M. C. (2009). Resistance of 57 greenhouse-grown accessions of Lycopersicon esculentum and three cultivars to Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Scientia Horticulturae, 119, 182–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2008.07.012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2008.07.012
Park, Y. J., Choe, S. S., Sohn, J. H., & Kim, J. B. (2017). The role of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in adipose tissue inflammation in obesity. Adipocyte, 6(2), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/21623945.2017.1288321 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21623945.2017.1288321
Peters, A. L., & Van Noorden, C. J. (2009). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and malaria: Cytochemical detection of heterozygous G6PD deficiency in women. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 57(11), 1003–1011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1369/jhc.2009.953828
Prashanth, G. P., & Ismail, S. K. (2025). Community, culture, and chromosomes: Humanistic approach to childhood G6PD deficiency management. Patient Education and Counseling, 131, Article 108570. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108570
Reclos, G., Hatzidakis, C., & Schulpis, K. (2000). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency neonatal screening: Preliminary evidence that a high percentage of partially deficient female neonates are missed during routine screening. Journal of Medical Screening, 7(1), 46–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jms.7.1.46
Singh, S., Anand, A., & Srivastava, P. K. (2012). Regulation and properties of glucose- 6-phosphate dehydrogenase: A review. International Journal of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 4(1), 1–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5897/IJPPB11.045
Solomon, E., Berg, L., & Martin, D. W. (2010). Biology (9th ed.). Cengage Learning. Spinelli, S., Marino, A., Remigante, A., & Morabito, R. (2025). Redox homeostasis in red blood cells: From molecular mechanisms to antioxidant strategies. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 47(8), Article 655. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080655 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080655
Sulaiman, A. M., Saghir, S. A. M., Al-Hassan, F. M., Yusoff, N. M., & Zaki, A. H. A. (2013). Molecular characterization of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in a university community in Malaysia. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 12(3), 363–368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v12i3.14
Thakor, P., Siddiqui, M. Q., & Patel, T. R. (2024). Analysis of the interlink between glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and lung cancer through multi-omics databases. Heliyon, 10(15), Article e35158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35158
Tiwari, M. (2017). Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and neurodegenerative disorders: Mapping diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. Genes & Diseases, 4(4), 196–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2017.09.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2017.09.001
Turner, N. J. (2000). Applications of transketolases in organic synthesis. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 11, 527–531. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0958-1669(00)00140-3
Verrelli, B. C., McDonald, J. H., Argyropoulos, G., Destro-Bisol, G., Froment, A., Drousiotou, A., Lefranc, G., Helal, A. N., Loiselet, J., & Tishkoff, S. A. (2002). Evidence for balancing selection from nucleotide sequence analyses of human G6PD. American Journal of Human Genetics, 71, 1112–1128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/344345
Wang, X. T., Au, S. W. N., Lam, V. M. S., & Engel, P. C. (2002). Recombinant human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase: Evidence from an allelic variant for the existence of a critical histidine at the subunit interface. European Journal of Biochemistry, 269, 3417–3424. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1432-1033.2002.03015.x
Xu, Y., Zhang, Z., Hu, J., Stillman, I. E., Leopold, J. A., Handy, D. E., Loscalzo, J., & Stanton, R. C. (2010). Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase-deficient mice have increased renal oxidative stress and increased albuminuria. FASEB Journal, 24(2), 609–616. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.09-1357 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.09-135731
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Journal of Undergraduate Research

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

